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Lukaku spoke at length about his national team in the “Friends of Sport” podcast, absent from Tedesco’s squad for the recently concluded Nations League phase. “I hope to rediscover the passion of playing for Belgium,” he says, “I want to return as a leader and teach young people a winning mentality.” He then remembers the 2022 World Cup: “I cried every day for weeks. Then with Tedesco I wanted to stop.” Finally, on Courtois: “The Federation should have handled the case better”
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Stayed in Naples to regain form during the Nations League break, Romelu Lukaku he spoke about his national team in the “Friends of Sport” podcast, an interview later reported by Le Soir. “I hope I can rediscover the passion of playing for Belgium, that the fire burns in me again for the Red Devils“, he states, “The next goal is the World Cup in two years and now it still seems very far away”. He therefore does not close the door on a return with the national team shirt: “I really want to return to the national team with good feelings and take on a leadership role. But you can’t expect me to be happy if we don’t win. That’s the only thing this group is missing: the young people have already come a long way but, in terms of winning mentality, they can do much better. This is what I can teach him“.
“After the 2022 World Cup I cried every day for weeks”
The Belgian striker is the national team’s top scorer with 85 goals in 119 appearances; However, he did not score in the last two tournaments played, the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship. In Qatar he was injured, but did not abandon his teammates: “I wanted to be there for my country because the coach and the team needed me” . However, missed chances contributed to the Red Devils’ elimination in the group stage: “It was the first time in 29 years that football touched me. I never thought about depression, but I cried every day for weeks. Even on holiday. Thierry Henry [allora vice di Roberto Martinez, ndr] he called me three times a day. My mother and my children were in Milan, but I had no energy. I needed to be alone for a while.” After a few months, Domenico Tedesco is the new coach of Belgium: “When it arrived I wanted to stop“, recalls Lukaku, “But he told me he needed me. So I went home, talked to my family and then decided to go. After the games in Sweden and Germany I still had doubts.”
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“The Federation should have handled the Courtois case better”
The numerous internal quarrels related to the Tedesco management are striking captain’s armbandwhich involved the goalkeeper Courtoisappointed vice-captain with the same Lukakubehind De Bruyne. The attacker states: “The Federation should have handled the situation better. In the first press conference he should have said: “No questions about Thibaut and the case.” The coach said what he had to say, but the Federation had to intervene. Now this matter is still dragging on. In what other country does this happen?“.
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